“Azerbaijani activists must be freed before the Baku 2015
Games” – UN expert
GENEVA (2 June 2015) – The United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, today
criticised the “relentless prosecution and repression of prominent rights
activists in Azerbaijan” and called for their immediate release ahead of the
inaugural European Games in Baku which begin on 12 June.
“As preparations were in full swing for the Baku Games,
the Azerbaijani authorities stepped up their efforts to harass, jail, and
surveil human rights defenders, as well as ban them from travel and freeze
their assets,” the independent expert said.
“Such unjustifiable criminalization has been usually
justified with trumped-up or politically-motivated charges of state treason,
illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion and abuse of office,” Mr. Forst said. “As
a result, most Azerbaijani defenders have had to endure prolonged pre-trial
detention, imprisonment or exile.”
The UN expert drew special attention to the cases of
Intigam Aliyev and Khadija Ismail for documenting cases of political prisoners;
Anar Mammadli, Bashir Suleymanli and Elnur Mammadov for monitoring the
presidential elections in October 2013; Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif, for
criticising the government; and Rasul Jafarov for organising the “Sport for
Rights” initiative during the Baku Games to expose corruption and rights abuses
in the country.
“I deeply regret the continued efforts to stifle
fundamental freedoms of expression and association, and to shrink the
democratic space even further in the country,” Mr. Forst said. “I urge the Government to ensure that
defenders who promote and protect human rights can do so in an environment that
empowers rather than prosecutes them.”
The human rights expert noted that the first European
Olympic Games represented “an opportunity for the countries of Europe to come
together and celebrate the Olympic spirit of freedom and inclusiveness.”
“As the host of the Games, it is only natural for the
Government of Azerbaijan to show commitment to those ideals by releasing
defenders deprived of liberty for their human rights aspirations in the
country,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Azerbaijani activists must be free and
they deserve to be part of the European celebrations in Baku.”
“I also urge athletes, sport fans and supporters of the
Games to show solidarity with Azerbaijani human rights defenders and join the
calls for them to be freed immediately in the European spirit of freedom and
human rights,” Mr. Forst stressed.
Mr. Forst’s appeal to the Azerbaijani Government has been
endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of association, Maina Kiai, and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of the right to freedom or opinion and expression, David Kaye.
ENDS
Mr. Michel Forst (France) was appointed by the Human
Rights Council as the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
defenders in June 2014. Michel Forst has extensive experience on human rights
issues and particularly on the situation of human rights defenders. In
particular, he was the Director General of Amnesty International (France) and
Secretary General of the first World Summit on Human Rights Defenders in 1998.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
Learn more:
Peaceful assembly:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/AssemblyAssociation/Pages/SRFreedomAssemblyAssociationIndex.aspx
Freedom of expression:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/OpinionIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact
Jamshid Gaziyev (+41 22 917 9183 / defenders@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to other UN independent
experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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